Santa Catarina Governor Insults Indigenous Protesters During Barragem Norte Visit

Overview

• Governor Jorginho Mello was filmed directing an explicit insult at protesters and exchanging further insults with a woman who identified herself as a cacique during a July 8 site visit to the José Boiteux dam.
• The state issued a note saying indigenous demonstrators approached the site with placards and some demands that concern federal responsibility, and it pledged to continue the repair work and housing projects.
• Santa Catarina says it is applying about R$34 million in measures for the Terra Indígena Ibirama-La Klãnõ, including dozens of houses, roadworks, a school and other infrastructure to fulfill a decades-old judicial agreement.
• Indigenous Xokleng protesters oppose how past commitments have been handled and say many compensation measures tied to the 1992 construction inside demarcated indigenous land were never fully delivered, a dispute that federal agencies such as FUNAI have been linked to historically.
• The governor posted a video saying he had been 'surrounded and disrespected' and defended resuming the works, raising wider public scrutiny of state–federal responsibilities and of how the housing and compensation plan will be implemented next.